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+44 142 444 0055 (Call Center)
+44 870 922 2839 (Customer Service)
4 Ellenslea Road
St. Leonards on Sea
United Kingdom - TN376HX

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Car Hire UK Complaints & Reviews

Apr 23, 2020

Car Hire UK — Car hire

Car Hire UK also known as Elsinore Garage & C0. I reside in Australia. Refund request due to Covid 19...

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Car Hire UK — car-hire-uk.com scam complaint deposit refund

We never had to pay a deposit on arrival, so our experience was great, highly recommend them, the vehicle wa...

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Car-Hire-UK.com — car-hire-uk.com deposit

I thought it appropriate to write a review due to the fake reviews, which nearly spoiled our trip in the uk, it would appear commercial enterprises are writing fake reviews against this company, as we booked online and paid £320.33 for 18 days at heathrow we paid nothing else, no large deposits nothing??? so book with them if they take a deposit like these fake reviews say CANCEL you have rights but dont believe rubbish reviews what has the internet come to, we had a good rental and could not really add any faults, never had an accident or damaged the vehicle so guess we would not have anything negative to say

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    • Updated by Phil Newman · Sep 19, 2018

      I just realised some of the negative reviews are people that have had accidents or damage and hence its easier to blackmail the company then pay what you owe i guess :)-

    Car-Hire-UK.com — failure to return deposit

    I live in New Zealand and visited my parents in the UK in September 2017. I hired a car through...

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    Car Hire UK / Elsinore Garage And Company — car hire

    1) I agree with all negative reviews written about this company.

    2) actually company does a reasonable job on rental business - car was ok and delivered & picked from our address. Gentleman who delivered/picked it up was very professional & provided all needed help.

    3) now the bad part - read their terms & conditions (t&c)
    A) they charge min. 250 gbp deposit at booking
    B) according to their t&c, they will refund the deposit after 21 working days after car has been returned (which they did not)
    C) they do not give you invoice/bill after
    D) their customer service will never follow up on your requests for deposit refund

    So what to do:
    1) if you really want to rent a car with them, then read terms & conditions, but I would suggest renting with a well known company
    2) make sure to take pictures of your car when returning a car and ideally demand stating all issues on the invoice (if any)
    3) request invoice with your return (or as soon as possible)

    And if you are already in trouble:
    1) their t&c describes how you should proceed with your claims - do ping-pong with their customer service - it is useless
    2) write an official letter describing what & when happened with attention to their director and send a scan of via email to their customer service and hard-copy via certified mail to their company office (btw. Official company name is elsinore garage and company limited and company number is [protected] and details can be found here: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/00575284)
    3) you may contact http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ for some advice - they can't act on your behalf, but they can inform trading standards (body in uk which deals with consumer complains)

    I tried to get my deposit refunded for over 2 months, but following above mentioned steps they refunded it immediately after I sent that scanned document. But make sure to send hard copy too - you might need it as a proof.

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      Car-Hire-UK — non-refund of deposit

      Not sure if you could investigate these thieves, but… www.car-hire-uk.com are stealing thousands of pound...

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      ELSINORE GARAGE AND COMPANY LIMITED — Non Refund of Insurance and Fuel Deposits

      ELSINORE GARAGE AND COMPANY LIMITED trading under "Car hire UK" The above have failed to repay my Insurance...

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      The complaint has been investigated and
      resolved to the customer's satisfaction
      Resolved       Car-Hire-UK.com — Deposits not refunded

      I returned the car directly to their guy at Heathrow on 1 May. Everything had been fine up until then.
      Then the drama of getting the deposits refunded. After 6 weeks of emails being totally ignored, I phoned and eventually was put through to Tina. We then had numerous emails back and forth - "will investigate - will process - approved - you will have it this week etc.". In the meantime I lodged a dispute with my bank.
      I finally received the refund last night, nine weeks after I returned the car. Needless to say, they have lost another customer. If you are in the same situation - keep pestering them. Squeaky wheel may eventually be oiled.
      Tina's email address is [protected]@car-hire-uk.com

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        • Kl
          kleber Barros Aug 09, 2013

          My deposit of £140 wasn't return after several attempts by phone, chat, they always say at the end of the week the money will in the account, but since May/2013 until now 09/august nothing happen.I will never recommend this company for no one they are fraud and I don't know why until today after all this complaints they still open do rent any car for other person, this is an abuse they never had intention to refund my money back.
          ID 169502

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        • Ro
          Robert Haswell Oct 19, 2011

          I returned the vehicle on 14/12/2010 with no damage and a full fuel tank after taking £670 as a deposits for insurance and fuel it was not returned to my account after the return of the vehicle.

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        • 28
          2828 Jun 07, 2011
          This comment was posted by
          a verified customer
          Verified customer

          BE WARNED. This is a fraudulent company. I returned the car over a month already but has not received my deposit of 660£. I rent it for a month for 1200£. As I booked through telephone, they don't provide any email confirmation or anything.

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        • Mi
          Millhouse Mar 29, 2011
          This comment was posted by
          a verified customer
          Verified customer

          They don’t do free upgrades to their prestige range, we really wanted to drive the New SLK 230 Convertible but they would not upgrade us free of charge. We were really disappointed as we wanted to drive this vehicle.

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        • Ki
          Killena Mar 28, 2011
          This comment was posted by
          a verified customer
          Verified customer

          Ample evidence that this company continues to operate in a fraudulent fashion. Not knowing them, we rented a car for a week in August 2009. Still fighting to get my deposits, 250 Pounds in all, back.

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        Car-Hire-UK — Non refund deposit

        This is a fraudulenl company which does not pay back deposits; does not respond to e-mails; and will tell you no end of lies should you manage to speak to someone at customer service/accounts department /garage etc etc. I have been trying to get back my deposit since March, 2012 without success. I am now at the end of my tether and am at present exploring the legal channels. I urge anyone else who has had similar misdealings with this company to contact beverley.[protected]@eastsussex.gov.uk at trading standards who is dealing with the incessant complaints about the above company. Not convinced? A quick search on google will confirm the validity of this post, although reports published by both the guardian and bbc's money box may just be the nail in the coffin!

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          • Ab
            Abigail Gregory Apr 11, 2013
            This comment was posted by
            a verified customer
            Verified customer

            Car Hire UK, are holding my deposit and are in breach of contract. They said it would be paid in 7/14 working days, but a week later and a phone call every other day, they have still not paid it back. When I booked the car, I gave them my bank details so they could take the deposit, the next day they said there was a problem and they couldn't take the deposit, I contacted them and they said they would try again, the next day I had another email, they said they could not take the payment, and could I give another account details, so they could take it from there, so I used my Moms account. A few days later, I found out they had taken deposits from both accounts!! I contacted them, many times, and eventually they paid back 1 deposit, I was actually hiring their car at the time, praps that is why they paid it back?? I am a student with a limited budget, and 21 yrs old, and the quote was much cheaper than other companies, so that is why I went with them, but in future I will only deal with well known companies, because now I know why their prices are cheaper, they rob your deposit!!

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          The complaint has been investigated and
          resolved to the customer's satisfaction
          Resolved           Car-Hire-UK — Theft of deposit

          I hired a car in July 2011, prepaid on a debit card. When I picked up the car I didn't have the original card and so I needed to pay both deposit and rental a second time, with them promising to refund the first payment straightaway. Each deposit was gbp1100 and I ended up being debited gbp2700 from my account. It has taken endless phone calls and eventually the hiring of a solicitor to send a court notice to them to force them to return the two deposits and the first rental fee. They kept saying they had technical problems returning the money, but on the date of the serving of court order they managed to return the money. It is clear that they hoped to keep all the money.

          I write this to help other potential customers avoid this car hire company.

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            • Ve
              Vehicle2hire Feb 20, 2013
              This comment was posted by
              a verified customer
              Verified customer

              Hello Friend
              It is become with most of people because they did not inquiry about car hire company and then lose their money so i think when ever find car hire company firstly get complete detail about car hire company from where we have to hire car and also get review from people who used it in past, more details can be get here www.vehicle2hire.com

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            Car Hire UK — Stay away

            My complaint is with regard to Car Hire UK, I recently hired a Ford Ka for a period of 20 days, on collection from Heathrow airport I had to pay deposits totalling $1226.21 (560 pounds) on the understanding that it would be returned once the vehicle was returned to Heathrow Airport long stay car park, at the agreed time, full of fuel and clean as per my contract. I returned the vehicle as requested but now some three weeks later my deposits have not been returned to me.
            As a consequence I am now paying interest on this money and have spent over an hour on hold trying to speak to some at the company.

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              Car-Hire-UK — Refund of Deposit £ 670.00

              I rent a car from a the above company from 12 February to 22nd February 2010. The vehicle was returned to the company on 22nd Feb 2010. After 19 month the company did not refund me the deposit paid to them. I send email and letter but no avail.
              I registered a formal complaint to through the company customer service website but they always give excuses and did not attend to my complaint.
              I am greatfull for an assistant from the board.

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                • We
                  welshenglish Jun 03, 2016

                  We booked a minibus with car-hire-uk last summer and one month prior to our departure a 1100GBP "security and petrol deposit" was booked from our credit card. This in itself is suspicious- in my experience most car hire companies simply "freeze" the sum on your credit card without actually withdrawing it.

                  Despite the minibus being returned in perfect condition (and this was confirmed by the call centre agents the first time I called). Our deposit has still not been returned...more than six months later.

                  The call centre agents, while initially telling us to "be patient, the transaction is almost complete" have hung up the phone upon hearing my enquiry on EVERY CALL made since early December.

                  Since Car-Hire-Uk seem to monitor and add to these posts occasionally I thought I would publish my Reservation No. (30368) here, in case they feel like returning my money.

                  I promise to add to this post should any developments occur (for positive or negative).

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                The complaint has been investigated and
                resolved to the customer's satisfaction
                Resolved                 Elsinore Garage /www.ukcar-hire.co.uk — Failing to provide details

                Had an collision with a vehicle owned by Elsinore Garage on 11/9 and when i spoke to the "man on the desk" he...

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                www.Car-Hire-UK.com — Refusal To Refund Insurance and Fuel Deposits 670GBP

                Sometime in May 2010 I booked a car from this company for which an amount of 227.17GBP or Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 1069.79 was charged to my Mastercard Account. I rented the car (group E) (Citroen) for a period of 10 days in July 2010.

                On 11 June 2010, your company again charged GBP670 or RM 3279.10 to my Mastercard account as deposits (600GBP insurance and 70GBP fuel deposits) for the booked car.

                On the evening of 10 July 2010, I returned the rented car (intact and with a full tank of petrol) to Heathrow’s Terminal 4 long term parking and it was later collected by the company (This was acknowledged by Mr. Jacob Palmer of the company via email).

                Now, it has been more than a year since I returned the car to the company, but my deposit money amounting to 670GBP has not been refunded or credited to my Mastercard account. In my efforts to get back the deposits I sent many emails to the company's staff, Mr. Jacob Palmer at [protected]@car-hire-uk.com as well as their customer services department at [protected]@car-hire-uk.com . But, as of today, the money has NOT been refunded to me!

                I also tried to call their Accounts Department, but it was never answered. Each time I called, all I got was a fax dial tone!

                DR MOHD ZAIN MOHAMED

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                  • Ke
                    KenMarble Sep 09, 2011

                    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/opinion/damage-from-brain-stents.html?_r=1&ref=healthinsuranceandmanagedcare

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                  The complaint has been investigated and
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                  Resolved                   Car Hire UK — Non return of deposits

                  On 26 May 2011, I rented a economy vehicle for period 15 June to 21 June 2011 at a cost of 107Pounds. My credit card was debited for the rental fee of 107 pounds plus
                  insurance excess deposit and fuel top up deposit of 575pounds. The vehicle was collected from Gatwick airport on due date and returned to the long stay carpark per their
                  request in undamaged and clean condition. Since returning to South Africa, I have tried unsuccessfully to get my deposit returned and to be issued with an invoice of costs for claim purposes. Their chat services an 2 occasions told me they would inform their accounts department of the request. I received no returns or communication. On 12 July I opened a ticket number MON-729533, detailing my request for return of deposits plus an invoice. It is now a month since returning the vehicle and I still cannot get any response from their customer services as to when the deposit will be returned. Their systems are set up to avoid any personal contact with any one.
                  What can one do to resolve this issue
                  Clive Patterson ([protected]@vodamail.co.za)

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                    www.Car-Hire-UK.com — Awful rip off

                    Ripped me off took months to get money back -very rude service COMPANY DETAILS...

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                    Car Hire UK — retention of deposit

                    On March 7 2011 we hired a car for 4 days from Car Hire UK. On February 21, just after the internet...

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                    London

                    The complaint has been investigated and
                    resolved to the customer's satisfaction
                    Resolved                     www.Car-Hire-UK.com — www.car-hire-uk.com

                    we found the complaint procedure very effective and helpful, we wrote to them an expressed our concerns at a rude person who delivered our vehicle and the quickly resolved the complaint and gave us a free upgrade on our next booking which went really well, it just shows that you should let one old person ruin or make you think bad, let them know and it gets sorted very happy now, thank you CarhireUK, and i certainly read between the lines when reviewing the numerous complaints which look like are from the same person all the same issue!

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                      CarHire3000 — Not refund on cancelled booking

                      I have recently dealt with Carhire3000 and am not being refunded my money for a booking I have cancelled. I was being sent to Dubai by my company - and booked a car for the period that I will be there. However my employer cancelled the trip and I was forced to do the same with my car rental. I have sent 4 emails to Carhire3000 with only one response being received with no comment on whether the booking has been cancelled or not or on whther my funds will be returned.

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                        Car hire 3000 — Ripped off!

                        Hi
                        I was charged for a full tank of gas (on a re-fill when returning the motor vehicle in Nice, France - National Car Rentals). We were unable to fill the tank up as the petrol station broke down - however we were able to full the tank 95% full. This was pointed out to the car rental and they said this was fine and would be no problem. We were charged Euro 45. I have now complained to Carhire3000 four times (via emails and telephone calls) with no adequate response.

                        I NEVER complain (even when slightly ripped off) but I have chosen to this time as this is disgraceful. I have used Carhire3000 half a dozen times in the past 6 months and will be complaining on every site I can find as I am livid about the complete lack of respect shown to a well paying and loyal customer.

                        Regards
                        John

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                          • Ro
                            Roger Watt Feb 23, 2011

                            We rented a car for a period of 56 days on the understanding we could return early if needed - Car Hire 3000 stated that was possible but a penalty of 3 days would be applied, which was fine - when the car was returned early they denied this and charged the full rental agreement - an excess charge of over one months rental - they are con merchants and shouldn't be trusted . The agensts are commissioned based and say anything to get a sale

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